Habits to be Broken
by Dippygamer64
Summary: Ever wonder how Smokescreen can perk up so quickly? Well you can thank that to a technique he learned during elite training. Unfortunately, it's a very, VERY BAD habit, even deadly. Can the Autobots help him break it? Or does he want things to stay as dangerous as they are? I REGRET NOTHING! Oh, and I do not own Transformers.
1. Chapter 1

Habits to be Broken

Chapter 1

Another empty recon. It was Arcee, Bumblebee and Smokescreen's turn to check, and so far, Jasper seemed pretty quiet. The rookie was mainly disappointed, saying he was ready for anything. Optimus told him to try and relax, complaining about things won't make them any better Smokescreen reluctantly agreed and went to his room. He was a bit stressed. Scratch that, a lot stressed. He was pushing himself too far recently, and the others haven't noticed. You'd think they'd care at least a little bit. But no. They simply shrug him off and go do their own thing.

Smokescreen sighed as he entered his room. He approached a desk and opened a drawer, revealing a rust colored box. He took it out and headed to his washroom, locking the door behind him. He faced a giant mirror and sighed. To anyone else, the box would've opened and nothing would be inside it. But Smokescreen always had his secrets. He typed a code on a secret number panel and the top split in half. Inside the lid was a sheathed dagger surrounded by the lid's red velvet carpeting. Smokescreen took it out and placed the box down. He unsheathed the weapon, revealing light blue line patterns and serrated teeth, dried Energon stained the edges. Smokescreen withdrew his arm plating and stared at old scars with dried up Energon around them. These were not battle scars, they were habitual wounds.

Smokescreen sighed again and gripped the dagger's handle in his right hand and set his left arm down, inner side facing up. Finding a good place on the plating, he lined the dagger up and-

*FAH-SHING!*

A quick and harsh pain struck Smokescreen as the blade broke through the metal plating, Energon spilling out of the opening rapidly. After the pain subsided, a familiar wave of bliss occurred, calming the rookie down as the Energon loss evened out. Smokescreen sighed at the calming feeling he had come to recognize.

 **[HOLD IT! Before I continue, I want to say I do NOT approve of self-harm, nor do I take part in it. In fact, one reason why I'm making this story is to inform people of the dangers and signs of this terrible habit. The reason some people find it relaxing (even though it's bad for you) is that it releases blood pressure and allows you to calm down. Smokescreen is doing the same thing, knowing well of the dangers about what he's doing, yet not caring because of how the others treat him what he's calm and focused. To him, he'd go psycho angry if he didn't have the habit, and thus keeps doing it in secret. So again, I'm not doing this as to get you** ** _into_** **self-harm, rather I am trying to** **keep you from doing so** **and I also give a thankful shout out to those who want to help prevent others from self-harm. Now back to the story!]**

Moving lower toward the elbow, Smokescreen slashed again, feeling the same effects before. He then moved the blade to his left servo and set his right arm down, slashing twice again, but in different places. This process of switching arms and finding a welcoming but dangerous bliss repeated for a few more times until a knock sounded from the door. "Smokescreen?"

The rookie sheathed the dagger quickly, reapplying his arm defense cover, making the cuts disappear from sight. "Y-Yeah?" He replied.

"It's me Arcee." The bot on the other side spoke, "We were just about to start training."

'This early?' Smokescreen thought to himself. "Okay. I-I'll be right out." He rapidly placed the dagger and sheath in the box lid and closed it.

"Are you alright?" Arcee asked.

Suddenly, Smokescreen opened the door with a fake smile, "'Course I am. Why ya ask?"

Arcee raised an optic ridge, "Well, you were stuttering. And you look pretty nervous."

Smokescreen scoffed, "Tch! Believe be 'Cee, nothing can shake me." He walked out of the washroom, closing the door behind him, "Now come on! Let's go train!"

Unknown to him as he walked away, Arcee had seen the rust box slightly, and was wondering what the liquid blue stuff on the sink counter was.

/

Smokescreen watched as Bumblebee and Bulkhead traded blows with one another. Ratchet programmed the computer to pick the fighters for each round. Wheeljack and Arcee already went first, Arcee winning for her agility and flexibleness, giving her an advantage. For the next fight, Bulkhead ended up winning the match due to his durability. Luckily, Bumblebee wasn't the sore loser type and accepted his loss quite well. Arcee spoke up, "Alright, who's next?"

"Let me see." Ratchet typed on his computer. "The first match was Wheeljack Vs. Arcee, then Bulkhead Vs. Bumblebee, now..."

The room went silent as two pictures appeared on the screen. Smokescreen Vs. Ultra Magnus. 'Scrap!' Smokescreen hissed in his head. He was a bit woozy from his... habit, and Ultra Magnus was a tough fighter. How was he supposed to fight well enough to not embarrass himself yet not cause any more pain?

Ultra Magnus approached the young rookie, "Well soldier. It seems we are meant to fight."

Smokescreen turned to him and faked a smirk, "Seem so. Sir." He added, knowing how strict the blue mech was.

Ultra Magnus walked to one end of the training area as Smokescreen went to the other. Arcee looked at him, "Smokescreen, be careful." She whispered, "He might not hold back for you."

Smokescreen turned to her, "Well, neither will I."

The two mechs faced each other, determination in both optics. Deciding to get it over with, Smokescreen made the first move. Dashing forward, he readied his arm for a punch. Ultra Magnus moved to the side easily, thinking how ridiculous the rookie was. But he was taken by surprise when Smokescreen swung his leg at him, hitting him in the arm. Smokescreen rushed forward, but his arm was countered by Magnus'. The two traded blows, Smokescreen trying to keep himself together by evading most blows, while Ultra Magnus focused on making the match end as soon as possible.

The two soon found themselves at a standoff, servos locked, trying to push the other back. Smokescreen didn't dare look at Magnus in the eye, so he focused on the ground, watching their peds try to move. Ultra Magnus was annoyed, yet impressed. The young mech was actually doing a fairly well job at fighting. Suddenly, Magnus noticed a glowing blue from the rookie's arm. He turned to see a blue liquid run down Smokescreen's arm from behind his plating. Shocked and awestruck, Ultra Magnus didn't notice Smokescreen releasing his grip and shoving the mech back. He staggered until he found his balance again. But when he looked up to see Smokescreen, ready to charge again, all he could focus on was his bleeding arm.

Smokescreen dashed forwards once more, ready to upper cut the lieutenant. But he was taken by surprise when Ultra Magnus grabbed his arm and held his other hand against the mech's chassis, keeping him from getting any closer as his arm was stretched out. Smokescreen struggled to get out of the grip, but stopped then Magnus spoke, "You are wounded." Smokescreen froze. Everyone in the room heard and looked closely at the rookie. Sure enough, Smokescreen was indeed bleeding from his arm. "Why are you bleeding?" Ultra Magnus asked, releasing the rookie.

Once he was released, Smokescreen held his arm as Energon dripped. 'SCRAP!' He mentally hissed. 'They must've opened!'

"Smokescreen," The rookie turned to Ratchet who was nearby a generator, gesturing him to sit down, "Let me see."

To everyone's shock, the rookie actually backed up, showing he was rejecting the offer. "Uh... N-No thanks. I-I'm good." He shrugged it off, still holding his wounded arm.

Arcee turned to him, "Smokescreen, you're stuttering again. Are you sure you're okay?" She asked, approaching him.

"I'm fine!" He snapped, "It's probably just an old wound. I'll just clean it out and patch it up. No big deal."

"No big deal?!" The medic asked. "Smokescreen, you're bleeding. Rinsing it off and covering it up won't do anything. I need to take a look at it." He insisted loudly.

Smokescreen's pressure built up, Energon pouring out faster. He sneered, "Ratchet! I'm fine!" He snapped back, "Just leave me alone! All of you!" He stormed out to his room to wash up.

Everyone stared at where he left, shocked and worried. "Why do you think he didn't want any help?" Bulkhead asked. Bumblebee shrugged in reply.

"I think I know," Arcee noted, gaining everyone's attention, "Smokescreen's hiding something. Something big."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Smokescreen panted as he stared into his mirror. His blade was out, marked with even more Energon which stained the sink counter. The most recent wounds indeed opened up, even some older ones started to crack open. Due to his pressure, he had to create more slashes to calm himself down. Afterwards, he washed the Energon off his arms and wrapped some Cybertronian gauze around the wounds. Shifting his armor back on, Smokescreen rinsed the Energon off the sink, sheathing the blade and locking it away in the secret lid compartment. He came out, making sure no one was in his room, then put the box back in his drawer. He sighed and rubbed his nose bridge, "Why?" He moaned, "Why did we have to train so early? If we had just done it later..." He shook his head and furrowed his optic ridges, "Doesn't matter. As long as they don't find out, everything will be alright." He walked out of the room and left for a drive with no one's permission.

/

Arcee was pacing, Bulkhead and Bumblebee watching her. "I'm telling you! He's hiding something! I saw it!"

"You saw what he was hiding?" Bulkhead asked

Arcee stopped and faced them, "Well, not exactly. But I did see something. Something that might explain all this." Just then they heard footsteps out in the main room. Arcee went to the corner and saw Smokescreen sneaking out. He transformed and drove away. Arcee's face became even more serious. She turned to the others, "Come on!" She dashed down the hall with the two mechs close behind her.

They stopped by a large door. Smokescreen's room. Arcee started to punch in a code. "What are you doing?!" Bulkhead asked.

"Were gonna find out what Smokescreen's hiding." She stated. The door opened and she went in, the mechs hesitantly following her. She looked around, "Alright. I remember seeing something red, like rust."

"Rust?" Bulkhead asked as she looked around the room. She peeked behind and under the berth and cabinets.

"And it looked like some kind of box." She added. She went into the wash room, hoping to see the box in there like before. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

*You mean like this?* Arcee and Bulkhead turned to Bumblebee who was looking into a drawer. They approached him and looked to see the rust colored box.

Arcee smiled, "That's it!" She shouted. She grabbed it and lifted the lid. But was shocked to see nothing whatsoever inside.

"Huh. Guess he's not hiding anything after all." Bulkhead noted.

But Arcee wouldn't have it. "No! He IS hiding something." She stated. She closed the box and ran out of the room, the two mechs following suit. She led them into the training area where Ratchet, Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack were still there. She ran up to the medic and held out the box, "Ratchet! I need you to scan this!" She ordered. "I have a hunch whatever Smokescreen's hiding is in here!"

The medic took it, opened the lid then closing it, and inspected it. After a while he set it on the computer console and scanned it. Cybertronian code appeared on the computer screen and moved rapidly. After a while, an X-ray image of the box appeared, something hidden in the lid. "Hm, interesting." Ratchet muttered. He looked over the screen as a code popped up above the lid where a hidden number panel was revealed on screen. The medic turned to the box and punched the code in, 6-7-2-0.

Just then, the lid opened up in half. Every bot gathered around and gasped at what was inside. A dagger, sheathed yet dangerous. "By the All-Spark!" Ratchet gasped.

"Why does Smokescreen have a dagger?" Wheeljack asked.

Arcee slowly reached inside and took it out. She removed the sheath and her optics widened at the new sight. The edges were serrated and stained with Energon. Fresh Energon. She felt a servo on her shoulder. She turned to see Ratchet, "Let me see." He requested, "I need to see whose Energon this is." She nodded, putting the dagger in his hand. He set it next to the box and scanned it. After the scanning was complete, a CNA image appeared on the screen as well as its code. The room was silent as Ratchet typed away, trying to find who the Energon belonged to. Suddenly, a mug shot-like picture appeared on the screen. Everyone, even Ratchet, backed away from the screen.

"Smokescreen?!" Bulkhead gasped.

It was true. Along with the CNA code and picture, Smokescreen's headshot was there. All the clues were added up. The box, the dagger, the Energon... Smokescreen was harming himself. Ratchet was the one who broke the horrific silence. "Ultra-Magnus. Find Optimus and bring him here." The lieutenant nodded and ran off. Ratchet continued mumbling under his breath, "I believe it's about time we had a talk with Smokescreen.

/

Smokescreen returned to the base, having blown off some steam, he realized he overreacted in their optics and he needed to apologize before they got suspicious. But when he got to the base, he transformed and saw no one in the main room. "Guys?" He called, "Hello?" He walked through the base, looking for his team. Primus, please don't let them be in his room. Undoubtedly, they'd find his box, and then they'd-

"Smokescreen." The rookie froze and turned to the left. He had just passed the training room where his entire team was standing there.

"Hey guys. What's with the hiding?" He chuckled, entering the room.

Optimus looked at him, something definitely bothering him. One could see sorrow and concern on his face. "Smokescreen... We need to talk to you."

Smokescreen looked at everyone, the same expressions on their races as well. "Look if this is about earlier, I'm really sorry. My actions were uncalled for. I just didn't want you guys to make a big fuss about-"

"Smokescreen, we know about the dagger!" Arcee interrupted.

The rookie froze. His optics wide and fearful. He averted his eyesight from his team, "I-I-I don't know what you're..."

"Don't lie to us Smoke!" Arcee shouted, "We know about everything now. The Energon, the box, the dagger. You're harming yourself!"

"No I don't!" Smokescreen shouted back, "I... I just-"

"Smokescreen." Optimus spoke up, gaining the rookie's attention. They looked at one another, one in fear, the other in concern. "Is it true?"

Smokescreen looked at him, sorrow starting to appear on his faceplates. Then he lowered his head and sighed. "... Yes... It's true." He mumbled, "... I... Cut myself."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The room was silent. No one dared to speak as Smokescreen started to tear up. Finally someone spoke. Ultra Magnus himself. "Why?" He asked. "How did you come into doing this?"

Smokescreen looked up, cooltant slowly running down his cheeks. After a while he sighed, "It started when I was training under the Elite guard." He started. "It was stressful and I had a really sharp attitude. So many times, I almost got kicked out. I tried calming down in many ways, but nothing worked. Then I heard of self-harming, and since everything else failed, I figured I'd at least try it. I won't lie, it was a bit scary and it did hurt a lot at first, but once my Energon pressure started to even out, I took a liking to it. It was calming and felt natural. So it became a habit, even after I got out of that boot camp."

Everyone was awestruck. No one knew about this, and they all somewhat wished they didn't. Smokescreen shouldn't be doing this, it was dangerous, even deadly.

"Did anyone know about it?" Arcee asked, "Any friends or family?"

Smokescreen shook his head, "Nope. And I aimed to keep it that way. Though, there was one time Alpha Trion found out about it and I had to be more careful about my surroundings."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Bulkhead interjected. "You mean to tell us that even after the big A found out about your secret, you continued to do it?"

Smokescreen nodded, "Yep. And it wasn't easy. He practically baby proofed everything." He turned to the rust box, "Except my dagger."

"How'd you get something like that anyway?" Wheeljack asked.

"It's a family heirloom." Smoke noted, "It was supposed to go to my older brother, but then he and the rest of my family got killed by Decepticons. I was the only survivor, so I took it with me."

"That's a family hand-me-down?" Arcee asked.

"Something like that I guess." Smokescreen shrugged. "Whenever I used it on myself, for some reason I had this warm feeling. Like I was with my family again. Don't know why, but it helped even more with my anger."

*What anger?* Bumblebee asked.

"Let's just say if I didn't start cutting myself, I'd have a wrecker's attitude and Megatron's temper." Smokescreen replied.

"So that's it?" Bulkhead asked, "This all started because you were stressed?"

"Hey, I didn't see any other way, and it didn't seem like a big deal back then." Smokescreen noted.

Optimus looked at him, "Can we at least... See what you've done?"

Smokescreen looked at the prime then to everyone else. They all looked at him with worried optics, scared for his sake. He sighed and nodded, "Okay. But please… don't freak out." He noted. He then held his arms out and retracted his defense metal, revealing his scarred metal plating.

The team all gasped at the scars. Some were only about an inch long (Cybertronian wise) and only went a millimeter deep. But the others, oh Primus. The longest was on his left arm, from the far left side of the wrist to the right of his elbow. Most scars crossed one another, some straight, others curved, very few creating shapes or designs.

Arcee looked like she was going to be sick, Bulkhead turned his helm and almost threw up, Bumblebee close his eyes as he just couldn't look anymore, Ratchet had to keep himself from grabbing the rookie's arm and patching him up by force, Wheeljack's jaw dropped which was a rare sight to see, and Ultra Magnus simply closed his optics and shook his helm. And Optimus, though his faceplates didn't change, his spark was aching with guilt and pain.

Smokescreen sighed and dropped his arms, "I know what I was doing was bad, but once it became a habit, I just couldn't stop. Besides... It was kinda nice once I got over the pain..."

That's when Arcee snapped, "Are you serious?!" She shouted, "You were hurting yourself, keeping all your pain a secret, and for what?! Just because it felt right?! That is sick Smokescreen! Why would you do that?!"

"Because no one cared about what I did!" Smokey snapped back. Everyone went silent as the rookie lowered his head. "No one cared! It was like I didn't exist! And it never ended! This was the only way I could calm myself down without hurting anyone else. I didn't want any of you involved because I knew you'd freak out and take it all away from me. My escape, my dagger, everything! I never wanted you to be a part of this, so just leave me be and let me forget any of this ever happened!" He snatched the dagger off the table by its blade, the serrated metal piercing into his servo, more Energon oozing out slowly. He turned to the exit of the room when-

 **(CLIFFHANGER! MWUAHAHAHAHA!)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 _ **Hey Guys! Sorry it took so long to update this. "Autobot to Decepticon" And this story were originally going to be side projects while I worked on Sunset Prime, My main story. But don't worry, I'll try harder to stay on track. Now let's pick up this chapter were I left off:**_

 _ ***Smokescreen sighed and dropped his arms, "I know what I was doing was bad, but once it became a habit, I just couldn't stop. Besides... It was kinda nice once I got over the pain..."**_

 _ **That's when Arcee snapped, "Are you serious?!" She shouted, "You were hurting yourself, keeping all your pain a secret, and for what?! Just because it felt right?! That is sick Smokescreen! Why would you do that?!"**_

 _ **"Because no one cared about what I did!" Smokey snapped back. Everyone went silent as the rookie lowered his head. "No one cared! It was like I didn't exist! And it never ended! This was the only way I could calm myself down without hurting anyone else. I didn't want any of you involved because I knew you'd freak out and take it all away from me. My escape, my dagger, everything! I never wanted you to be a part of this, so just leave me be and let me forget any of this ever happened!" He snatched the dagger off the table by its blade, the serrated metal piercing into his servo, more Energon oozing out slowly. He turned to the exit of the room when-***_

Bumblebee ran in front of Smokescreen, arms held out. Smokescreen stopped in his tracks, but only glared angrily at the scout. Just then, he a familiar pain from his hand. He looked to see his dagger was gone, a slice mark across his palm. He turned around angrily as Arcee held his dagger by the handle.

"Arcee, give. That. Back!" He growled, his optics burning holes into her spark.

"Smokescreen, we're just trying to help you." She spoke calmly.

"You can help by leaving me alone!" The rookie snapped.

"Not a chance kid." Wheeljack stepped forward, "You need to quit this habit of yours pronto."

The kid groaned, "Look, I'm not doing this to hurt you guys, I'm just trying to keep my anger intact!"

"Smokescreen, we understand you feel a little stressed." Arcee held a hand out trying to calm him down, "But hurting yourself isn't going to do anything about it. We're just going to keep the dagger from you for a while so you don't cut yourself anymore."

A terrifying glare found its way onto Smokescreen's faceplates. "I knew you'd take it away from me!" He growled and started to charge towards her. Bulkhead and Wheeljack reacted quickly and grabbed his arms, holding him back without hurting him. The bots all flinched, they didn't know Smokescreen had this much anger or power.

Arcee kept her hand out, but did back up a few steps, not wanting to find out what Smokescreen's true strength was. "We're not taking it from you. We're just keeping you from harming yourself. After this habit... fades away, we'll give it back to you. I promise."

Smokescreen didn't relax, but he did cease struggling to escape the wreckers. He was breathing heavily and angrily. He turned to look over everyone in the room, they each were looking at him, worried and concerned. He took a few breaths then sighed heavily, his anger disappearing, replaced by guilt. "Alright." He mumbled.

After sensing the rookie calming down, the Wreckers released their grip. The rookie slumped his shoulders, but didn't move otherwise. Arcee turned to Optimus and placed the kid's dagger in his servo. Smokescreen had to clench his fists tightly to keep himself from forcefully getting it back. He grinded his denta and shut his optics as the Prime placed his blade in the box itself, instead of the lid like he used to, and locked it. Smokescreen felt his spark clench at the sight. His dagger was gone. For all he knew he wouldn't see it ever again. The thing that had been with him for years was locked away and now he would have to deal with his temper on his own with the others around him. To judge him! To make him feel weak and-

He took a deep breath, he couldn't think like that. His team wasn't going to be like the Elite Guard "Boot Camp", they were going to help him through this. They were going to support him. They're not going to let him down, and vice versa.

Just then he felt a gentle servo on his shoulder. He looked to see Ratchet giving him a sympathetic look. "Smokescreen. If you would let me, I would like to patch up your scars. I do not want them to get worse, and I think it would put a lot of us at ease."

Smokescreen sighed but nodded, "Okay."

The medic directed the younger mech onto a berth near the computers. Once the rookie sat down, he hesitantly retracted his arm plating, revealing the cuts once more. It stung when Ratchet disinfected the wounds, but Smokescreen forcibly held himself together. The medic had to clean every cut, including the ones that closed up slightly. "They could be infected already." The doc said. Smokescreen however figured he deserved every sting of the disinfectant he felt. Afterwards the Medic began to cover up his wounds properly, unlike how Smokescreen wraps them on his own. He did panic slightly however when he felt something, or rather someone, touch his shoulder. He tensed and swung his helm around to see Bulkhead. He sighed, "Sorry." He muttered.

"It's okay kid." The mech replied, patting the kid's shoulder. The Autobots, excluding Ratchet and Smokescreen, looked at one another. They had no idea their youngest member was torturing himself in this way. And the reasons he was doing it… did he really think no one cared about him? Was he pushing himself too far? How could they not notice this before?! Arcee only began to notice things when she saw the box in his room. Most likely he was cutting himself when he told him about the early training. She shuttered at the thought of being close to that sort of action.

Time passed and soon, Smokescreen's cuts were patched up and cleaned. Ratchet gave him some medications that would make his wounds numb, but a side effect was he was getting tired. Optimus insisted he went to recharge, but the mech was still stubborn.

"It's okay Optimus. I'll be fine." The rookie muttered.

However after what they went through, Optimus knew he'd have to be stricter with the mech.

"Smokescreen, if Ratchet's serum is going to cause drowsiness, then you must listen to his advice." The Prime explained, gaining a nod from the medic, "Furthermore, I believe you deserve a recharge after today's events."

"But…" Smokescreen was about to reply when something hit his processor, making his vision blurry and his head spin. He moaned as he put a hand to his helm, robbing his closed optics gently.

"Easy Smokey." Arcee walked up next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Come on, I'll help get you to your room."

The femme helped the mech up and began guiding him to his room, giving the others a look before entering the hallway. Soon they reached the rookie's room and Arcee got Smokescreen to his berth. Once he sat down, he rubbed his helm. "You okay?" Arce asked.

The mech moaned, "Just got a headache." He sighed, "I'm really sorry Arcee. It just… became a habit over time."

Arcee sighed back, putting a hand on his shoulder, kneeling down and gaining his eyesight. "Smokescreen, we're not angry, we're just… worried about you. If you've been doing this for so long, it can't be good for you. And all those things you said about yourself, about thinking you're weak and that we don't care… none of that is true. And don't think we won't help you after all this."

Smokescreen looked at her, "Arcee… I… my anger's still gonna be a problem." He noted.

"Anger or no anger, you're still the Smokescreen we know. Nothing's gonna change that." The femme smiled. She stood up, "Now get some rest. You deserve it."

The mech watched the femme leave before sighing. After a while, he laid back on his berth and stared at the ceiling. After a while, he found himself in stasis. After a few moments of quiet, Smokescreen found himself on the floor of the Base. Smokescreen stood up and looked around confused. No one was there, the hallways were empty and eerily quiet. After staying still for a while, Smokescreen began to walk down the hallway. Room after room, Smokescreen found no one, until he had made an entire circle in the base. Smokescreen shook his head, "What is going on here?" He asked himself, looking around once more.

 _ **"Isn't it obvious?"**_

Smokescreen whipped around as a voice spoke out. In one of the dark hallways, two optics glowed red.

 _ **"You're home. And, as much as I hate spoiling the ending of an adventure… this is going to be your life."**_

Smokescreen growled, "What are you talking about?"

The owner of the voice groaned and rolled its red optics, _**"You rookies are so dense!"**_ Just then the optics disappeared. Smokescreen looked around until he saw them in a different hallway, _**"With the way you're going, you secret out and your anger sure to return, it'll only be a matter of time before the Autobots leave you."**_

Smokescreen gasped before scowling, "You're wrong! Arcee and Optimus PROMISED they wouldn't leave me!"

 _ **"Oh please! Are you really going to listen to some mech and femme who barely know you?"**_ The owner of the voice stepped into the light and Smokescreen watched in horror as the optics shifted from red to blue and a mech stood in front of him, _**"Or yourself?"**_

Smokescreen backed up in fear. He was haunting himself, saying the others would leave him. Just then he tripped and fell back. He winced in pain only for the base to disappear into darkness. He backed away from where he was, at least where the other him was, only for the voice to echo once more.

 _ **"They're not going to help you. They're just going to keep you around until they realize how weak and pathetic you are! And how much of a burden you've become!"**_

Smokescreen covered his audio receptors, "Stop it! You're lying!"

The voice chuckled as his other self stepped out of the shadows, _**"Why would I lie to myself? Seems rather moronic, don't you think?"**_

Smokescreen continued to try and block the voice of himself mocking him. He told himself it was lying, it was all some sick illusion or dream. But when he opened his optics his other self had his dagger in hand. The other him kicked him onto his back and placed a ped on his chassis, trapping him. Smokescreen tried to get up, but the other him brought the dagger to his throat and smirked sickly, _**"Until we meet again."**_ He hissed and sliced Smokescreen's throat. Just as he felt a sting of pain, Smokescreen saw white. Looking around he was in his room at the base. It was all a nightmare. A sick, horrible nightmare. Sitting up he drew back his arm plating and saw Ratchet's handy work. After taking a few breathes, he sighed and put his plating back over the bandages. He laid back down, his spark still pulsing frantically after what he had just seen. He shook his head. It wasn't real. It would never be real. The Autobots would never leave him, and he was not going to let them down. With a final sigh Smokescreen closed his eyes and went back into stasis, making a solemn vow his nightmare would never become a reality.


End file.
